


Summer Home

by regentzilla



Category: Street Fighter
Genre: M/M, Multi, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-09
Updated: 2016-04-09
Packaged: 2018-06-01 04:09:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6500239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/regentzilla/pseuds/regentzilla
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It had been a long time, and the scenery had changed so much as to be almost unrecognizable, but Ryu's feet had walked him to the Masters' summer estate so many times that they could lead him there again without a thought, no matter how much had changed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Summer Home

It had been a long time, and the scenery had changed so much as to be almost unrecognizable, but Ryu's feet had walked him to the Masters' summer estate so many times that they could lead him there again without a thought, no matter how much had changed.

It was early. Ryu had to glance up at the sky, one hand held to his forehead, to examine the sun's pale glow cresting the horizon and make a guess at the exact hour. One of the more bothersome things about his nomadic lifestyle was keeping track of time – the last watch he owned had run out of battery somewhere in Thailand and broken off his arm completely before he was out of Laos, and he hadn't had the chance to find a new one yet. He couldn't even remember the last time he had seen a calendar.

He didn't pause in his drudge up the long driveway. Even if it was so early that the rest of the tourist-rich oceanside town was still sleeping, Ryu had a feeling Ken would be awake.

When he reached the high arched door he steadied his resolve with a deep breath, then pressed the doorbell. He didn't have to wait long for a response – if he held his breath he could hear distant footsteps drawing closer, turning into a frenzied rhythm as they descended a flight of stairs. There was a split second of silence before the handle turned and the door opened.

It was, of course, Ken. Ryu opened his mouth to say hello but before he could get a sound out Ken had lunged forward, landed a punch on his chest and a kiss on his lips, and flung a tight hug around his shoulders. Ryu laughed into the curtain of blonde obscuring his vision and hugged Ken back.

“Get in here,” Ken grumbled into his neck, stumbling backwards through the door and dragging Ryu with him. Ryu tripped over the doorframe and dropped his bag aside, catching Ken's lips in another kiss and flinging the door closed behind them. It slammed shut with a booming noise that echoed through the foyer.

Ken laughed and shushed him. “Nobody else is awake!”

“Sorry,” Ryu whispered.

Ken kissed him one more time and then retrieved the ratty and stained bag from the floor. “Well, you don't have to be that quiet. I was just about to start my morning workout, but sparring sounds way better.”

Ryu took his bag back and grinned. “You're not going to take no for an answer, are you?”

Ken was already striding away, but he shot a smirk over his shoulder. “You're not gonna give it.”

The gym was just a hallway away, and the walls were lined with equipment, but the middle of the room was empty and the hard rubber floor padded with thin blue mats. Ken didn't have a regular sparring partner – the setup was just for when Ryu visited. Ryu never brought it up because he knew Ken would get embarrassed and deny it, but it was a nice gesture. A cute one, even.

Something else Ken would probably deny was how different their physiques had become. They used to look almost exactly the same, save for their faces and hair and a sliver of height, but as Ken settled down and Ryu continued travelling, things changed. Ryu's core stayed solid with muscle, but Ken's new style of skin-hugging shirts showed off how narrow his waist was, how superficially defined his muscles were. He had the body of a model, not a fighter.

Evidently his enthusiasm or flair for the dramatic hadn't diminished one bit – Ryu set his bag down with a thump on the rubber part of the floor, and before he even turned around all the way Ken's foot was flying at his face. He blocked it with his forearm at the last second and it sent a jolt of pain up his arm from the clumsiness of his unplanned response – the grunt he let out was more from surprise. He hastened to get away from the wall and into the middle of the room before Ken backed him all the way into a corner.

Ken's blows were more fierce, more reckless and painful to weather than they used to be. Every punch and kick that landed solid on Ryu's frame forced him back a step just from the sheer force and weight of the impacts. Ken's eyes were ferocious and dancing with a fiery delight that flared with every hit. He was showing off.

Ryu found himself forced to go on the defensive just to stay on his feet. Ken's assault was unrelenting, a complete rushdown that left no room for tricky escapes on Ryu's behalf. He was getting chased around the room and forced to take every hit – at the rate they were going, Ryu was going to run out of stamina before Ken did, which eliminated one of his already very few methods of escape.

He ducked under a particularly vicious hook and almost stumbled backwards into a piece of gym equipment, and with a cold rush of adrenaline he realized the importance of what working out instead of sparring had done to Ken's build – the movement of muscle from waist to shoulders left him without the practical heft that Ryu still had. Ken was top-heavy.

If a tricky solution wouldn't work, a blunt one would have to do. Ryu charged forward and tackled Ken's legs, taking him off-guard and off-balance. He toppled like a felled tree and Ryu slammed down on top of him, struggling to find a grip on his skin-tight shirt. Ken grabbed two easy handfuls of Ryu's gi and flipped him over, straddling his waist.

“Don't be cheap!”

Ryu slung his arms around Ken's neck and flipped them both over again, twisting him into a headlock. “Who's being cheap?”

He felt a hand wiggle around to his chest and braced for it to grab onto his clothes again, but instead it fumbled for a moment and then slipped under his gi, giving his pec a hard squeeze.

“You're onto me,” Ken laughed, breathless. He tapped out against Ryu's foream.

Ryu couldn't hold back a laugh of his own, releasing his grip. He collapsed onto Ken and took a deep breath, feeling the sore spots on his forearms where he had blocked Ken's attacks, the burn running through his muscles, and the sweat condensing on his skin. He felt electric.

Ken smacked his open palm against the floor. “C'mon, get off me, I'm dying here! How many times do I have to tap out?”

Ryu stood and offered a hand to Ken, but he kicked his feet into the air and sprang up, hair flying wild around his head.

“Should we call it a draw?”

Ken nodded. “That was good, though! Been a while since I felt this sore after a fight. Or since I had a fight at all.”

“I was counting on that,” Ryu said, jabbing a finger at one of the weight machines.

“You little shit!” Ken laughed. “Keep that up and I'm not gonna let you in the shower!”

He did, of course – once they were in the adjacent bathroom he pointed at Ryu's dirt-caked and frayed gi and ordered him to strip. He laughed and shook his head when he saw that Ryu was just as grimy underneath it.

“Headband too,” Ken said, holding a hand out and making a 'give it here' gesture with his fingers. Ryu hadn't even realized he was still wearing it, and if Ken's expression was anything to go by his hair looked ridiculous after being squished down by it for so long.

Ken didn't say anything – just slung Ryu's grimy gi over one arm, and with his free hand opened the cabinet over the sink. “I'm going to throw your clothes in the washer. You,” he continued, tossing something over his shoulder that Ryu caught completely out of reflex, “should probably shave.”

Ryu looked down at the razor he had snatched out of the air, then back up at Ken. “You think so?”

Ken was already through the door to the laundry room, but he leaned back and craned around the doorframe, pursed his lips and crinkled his nose, and nodded.

Ryu shaved quickly and only nicked himself once, then hurried out of the cool room into the shower. He didn't hear Ken return over the sound of water sloughing down over the tiles, and didn't seem to notice the glass shower door slide open, or closed again once Ken had stepped inside.

Ryu's expression made it clear that the hot water was nothing less than a spiritual experience. It took several silent moments for him to react at all when Ken wrapped a hug around his stomach from behind, and even then he just leaned his head back against Ken's shoulder.

“Any exciting stories to go with the new scars?”

“I had a good match with a Japanese pro wrestler. I thought the rope burns would scar but they didn't.” Ryu hummed, smiled, and pointed out a pale patch on his wrist. “I like this one.” A few theories jumped to Ken's mind – chemicals, electricity, a misaimed fireball. “I worked in a soup kitchen for a night in exchange for food and accidentally burned myself.”

Ken laughed, his voice bouncing off the tiles and filling the shower with warm vibrations. “That is a good one.”

Ryu reached up with one hand and mussed Ken's hair roughly, making the slicked-back strands stand up and fall forward into his face. “What's with the new look?”

Ken spluttered and smashed a hand against Ryu's short-cropped hair before fixing his own, craning forward over Ryu's shoulder to get it wet under the shower's spray. “Eliza thinks it's cute! And getting baby puke out of long hair once was one time too many.”

Ken might have once had new scars to share, but not this time. Ryu was able to trace the familiar ridges with his hands, still raised and pink on Ken's skin no matter how much else was different. They finished showering in silence. Ryu always forgot how good it felt to be clean underneath how good it felt to be outdoors and dirty with adventure.

The laundry was finished by the time they were ready to put clothes on. Ken crouched in front of the dryer and again tossed things over his shoulder for Ryu to catch.

“You're not wearing that nasty gi around the house. I hope my stuff fits you,” he frowned, tugging a tight red shirt on and combing his hair back down with his fingers. “I think the pants will, but...”

Ryu stepped into the sweatpants, tossed the socks back into the dryer, and then wrestled his way into the black shirt and re-tied his headband on. It was the only thing he really felt naked without.

He had worn Ken's clothes before, plenty of times, but just as their diverging bodies suggested they fit differently than they used to. The shirt in particular was a little loose in the shoulders and stretched taut around Ryu's stomach.

“Could be worse,” Ken said, eyeing him up and down, then, “I'm starving. You want food?”

Ryu nodded, tugging uncomfortable at the unfamiliar shirt.

Even showered and clean-shaven and dressed in Ken's very well kept and unstained-by-battle clothing, Ryu looked out of place in the sleek white marble and brushed steel scenery of the kitchen. He took one step past the doorway and stood there looking around the room, hands still at the hem of his borrowed shirt. Had it been renovated since he had last seen it? It was hard to remember.

"Let me guess. Grilled fish, rice, miso, green tea?"

Ryu smiled. "If you have it."

Ken grinned back, paused in thought, then reached up to rifle through a cabinet. "I think I have everything but the tea. Coffee?"

Ryu stepped forward, bare feet silent against the cool stone tile floor, and tugged Ken into a hug. Ken jumped ticklish but squirmed back eagerly until his back was tight against Ryu's chest. "Is it decaf?" Ryu muttered into Ken's shoulder.

"God no," Ken scoffed.

Ryu scrunched his nose up. "Just water, then."

Ken couldn't hold back a laugh. "I wish Eliza was awake. She'd never be able to tease me about being a health food weirdo again."

"I think I'll have to start teasing you for half-assing it."

The new voice in the kitchen startled Ryu and he took a step back from Ken, but Ken caught him by the wrist and tugged Ryu's arm back around his waist as he leaned down to kiss Eliza good morning. No matter how much Ken and Eliza assured him about their relationship of three and no matter how much time they spent together, Ryu never lost the embarrassment he carried around when it came to certain romantic things.

"Good morning, Ryu," Eliza said with a sleepy smile, craning upwards for a quick peck against Ryu's cheek, "it's been ages! When did you get in?"

Ryu fidgeted. "Early?"

"Around four," Ken supplied. "Is Mel awake yet?"

Eliza shook her head. "Not yet. I think we have another hour or so. Mind if I put on some gross caffeinated coffee anyway?"

The dance around the kitchen she and Ken performed was almost smooth enough to be choreographed – they both knew exactly where everything was, where the other was going, where they were in the space of the room. They looked so comfortable together while Ryu stood there with his hands at his sides, not wanting to move in case he interrupted their flow.

Once the coffee was burbling away, Eliza put her hands on Ryu's shoulders and smoothed down his arms, pausing to tug at his sleeves and then at the fabric bunched around his stomach.

“You look cute in Ken's clothes!”

Ken looked up from the rice cooker. “Right! I always tell him he should dress up more often!”

“It's a little tight for my tastes...”

Eliza gasped and shot a look of mock scandal over at Ken, a hand held to her chest and everything. “Tight! Ken, are you getting skinny? Losing some of those big beefy muscles?”

Without a word Ken marched across the kitchen and scooped Eliza up with one arm, slinging her over his shoulder and flexing like a bodybuilder. Eliza squealed and kicked, flinging her slippers off, and clamped her hands over her mouth so she wouldn't accidentally wake Mel.

Ken hummed. “What do you think, Ryu, am I getting skinny?”

“Doesn't look like it,” Ryu smiled.

Behind them, the coffee maker beeped, and Ken relented. He placed Eliza back on the ground, and pressed a kiss to her forehead before letting her go. She shuffled back into her slippers and landed a light and playful slap on Ken's behind as she walked past. He jumped in alarm. Ryu had to muffle a laugh with his hand.

“I didn't think anything was different,” she said, quirking an eyebrow, “I just like when you try to prove it.”

Ken shook his head as he poured himself a cup of coffee, and Eliza went back to fussing over Ryu. He leaned down obligingly to let her reach up to his still-damp hair, running her fingers through it to make him look presentable before it dried funny. The scratch of her nails was light and ticklish against his skin.

"You know," she said, "Ken is always telling me not to pressure you or try to tie you down or anything like that. But we'd both love it if you came to visit more often. I know he misses you, and I miss you too." She let her hands fall to his shoulders and leaned in conspiratorially, voice dropping to a stage whisper. "I think he's jealous of all the fun you're having without him."

Ken gave her a scolding click of his tongue. "Please! Everyone knows blondes have more fun."

"Which means I have more fun than both of you, mister raven locks and mister dye job."

"That's right, dear," Ken said. Eliza landed another swat on his ass for that.

She waited until Ken finished preparing his coffee (two sugars, no cream), then shooed the pair of them out of the kitchen. "I have things to do today, unlike some people," she said. "Let me get my breakfast and then you can use the kitchen once your rice is ready."

They retreated through the sliding glass doors that let the light of sunrise into the kitchen and onto the balcony. Ken leaned against the railing, coffee billowing steam into the slow-warming air, and Ryu followed him.

“I'm sorry to drop in unannounced,” Ryu said after a silent moment, casting a sheepish glance down over the gentle oceanward slope of the estate grounds. “I couldn't get my hands on a phone until I was in town, and then there wasn't really a point.”

Ken blew out a dismissive breath and smiled. “Don't worry about it, man! To be honest, I kinda like being surprised.”

“You're sure?”

Ken's smile didn't falter but his eyebrows drew together in confusion. “I've never seen you like this before. You know it's fine, what's mine is yours."

"Even your home? The time you have with your family?"

Ken stared for a few seconds, bewildered, then smiled and landed a playful punch on Ryu's shoulder that would have knocked anyone else clean over. "You are my family, you dope!”

That forced a smile out of Ryu. “Do you think it's okay for me to meet Mel? I could leave before he wakes up...”

“You're not going anywhere, pal,” Ken grinned. “Kids are good with stuff like this! I've talked with Eliza about it. It's as simple as letting him know that we love each other, and we also love you, and you love us. He'll probably be bouncing off the walls to go a round with you, we might not even get to it.”

Ryu's smile deepened and reached his eyes, and he nodded. He could live with that. “How big is he now? I haven't seen him since before he could walk.”

Ken glowed with a smile – Ryu thought that if he showed even one more tooth he would outshine the sunrise. “He's three and a half. He's big for his age! And he's a chunky little dude too, he's definitely gonna be bigger than me someday. All he wants to do is watch Fei Long movies, we've seen all of them at least ten times each, and he's always on about starting martial arts lessons once he's old enough – it's a different one every week, I think he's into judo right now...”

Ryu hadn't seen Ken so passionate about something since they were young, and he didn't want to interrupt and risk changing the topic. He just listened and watched Ken's hands wave expressive, passing the coffee cup between them and letting it get cold. He thought back to what Eliza said about visiting more often.

If it was for her and Ken, and Mel, he could probably manage to take a few more vacations.


End file.
